Slicing machine



F. T. LAMBERT SLICING MACHINE Filed March 2, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l @p&. 24, i F T LAMBERT I SLICING MACHINE Filed March 2, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 efiected at each stroke of the knife or table.

Patented Sept. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES SLICING MACHINE Fiennes Thomas Lambert, Wandsworth, London, England Application March 2, 1933, Serial No. 659,385 In Great Britain March 8, 1932 5 Claims.

This invention relates to slicing machines for bacon and like substances, in which successive slices are cut by a rotary or other knife, the relative advance of the piece of bacon or the like being In such machines, it is already known to provide means for controlling the position of the piece in relation to the knife so as to produce an angular correcting motion, so that the convergence of the two ends of a trapezoidal or wedge-shaped piece can be compensated by a lengthwise taper in the thickness of the slices, enabling the whole piece to be cut into slices without leaving a triangular residue which represents a waste; see U. S. Patent No. 1,638,362. In two forms of construction of the correcting means described therein (see Figs. 2 and 3) the angular motion is imparted to a vertical plate carrying the substance to be sliced, this plate being pivoted upon a supporting frame or cross-head detachably mounted upon the feed-table of the machine, for example by means of the pillars or standards which usually serve for clamping the substance thereon.

The present invention has for its main object to provide an improved controlling mechanism, which produces the angular correcting movement in a more positive and regular manner, can be readily adjusted to give any desired rate of correction according to the initial shape of the substance and the number of slices to be out therefrom, and also facilitates the manual setting of the substance to the required angle for bringing its front face square with the cutting knife in the starting position.

The invention is hereafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 represents the preferred form of construction of the correcting device with the supporting frame for the pivoted plate carrying the substance to be sliced; the feed table and the re ciprocating carriage of the slicing machine are indicated in chain lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view, in section along the correcting screw.

Fig. 4 shows a modification hereafter described.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate means for disengaging a pawl controlling the rotation of the correcting screw during the initial setting of the device.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the feed-table a of the slicing machine is indicated as fitted with the usual uprights b, normally intended to support a clamping bar for the piece of bacon or like substance to be cut, the feed-table being advanced I towards the rotary slicing knife 0 at each complete stroke of the reciprocating carriage d on which the feed-table is guided. In place of the ordinary clamping bar,-there is fitted upon the 5 uprights b a supporting frame e having lugs f and an eccentric locking tumbler g for engaging the two uprights, the lugs f and tumbler a being similar to the corresponding parts of the displaced clamping bar.

Upon the frame e and preferably at the end or side remote from the slicing knife 0, there is pivoted a vertical plate h of known type, upon which a piece of bacon or the like can be secured by the prong-fitted bars 71. rotatable by means. of a handle h The angular position of the plate It around its pivot 71, is controlled by a screw and nut mechanism, comprising a horizontal screw 7' mounted in a slotted portion a of the frame c, with its axis at right angles to the front face of 2 the latter, the sides of the slot acting as guides for a travelling nut is preferably of cubical or rectangular shape, which is connected to the pivoted plate It by means of a flat link 1; the latter may be arranged to rest upon the top of the frame e and cover the slot so as to enclose the screw.

A crank handle m fixed to the outer end of the screw 7' enables the vertical plate h to be set at any desired angle to the front face of the supporting frame e so as to bring the front of a trapezoidal piece of bacon, for example, parallel with the knife 0; the screw 9 is then turned periodically in the opposite direction by the reciprocating movement of the machine carriage (1, so as gradually to reduce the obliquity of the plate 72. as the slicing operation proceeds, until the whole piece has been cut without waste. For this purpose, there is shown a pawl and'ratchet device, comprising a ratchet wheel 11. secured upon the screwi behind the crank handle m, and a pawl 0 carried 40 by the upper arm of a spring-controlled lever p mounted upon the screw a behind the ratchet wheel, this lever p having a lower arm 11 movable between stops q on the rear face of the slotted frame portion e The lever arm 13 connects with a slidable rod 1' adapted-to engage a fixed or adjustable abutment s upon the machine, the rod 1 being guided in a boss r on the frame e and preferably made telescopic with a spring action, so as to allow it to yield when the holder it has been brought back against the frame e and the ratchet wheel n can be turned no further. Figure 1 shows, in dotted lines, the position of the rod 1' and its guide r when the rod is in engagement with the stop s at the end of the reciprocation of the carriage d; the stop proper consists of a horizontal bar sufficiently long for engagement by the rod 1 at each reciprocation during the transverse advance of the feedtable a, this bar being supported at one end by an upright s secured to the stationary base of the machine by an attachment 8 and bolts 8 shown in Fig. 2.

The amount of the correcting movement imparted to the holder h at each complete stroke of the reciprocating carriage (1 may be adjusted by providing a curved shield t over which the pawl 0 slides before engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel n; this shield t is adjustable around the wheel by means of a setting arm u having a locking finger u co-operating with a number of holes in a locking quadrant 0 attached to the rear face of the portion 6 The quadrant may form an indicating scale, by having the holes correspond to movements of the ratchet wheel 11 by different numbers of teeth, for example from six down to nil, according to the rate of angular adjustment or correction to be made in slicing any particular piece of bacon or the like, that is to say, according to the total correction required and the thickness of slice for which the feed-mechanism is set.

One or more springs in may be arranged to act upon the plate h, for example in tension or compression between the travelling nut is and the vertical plate h, in order to prevent looseness and chatter.

The pivoted plate 71. may also be provided with I a frictional damping device in the form of a plunger :r pivctally connected to the free end of the plate, as illustrated in plan View in Figure 4, this plunger sliding through a tightly fitting bush x in the frame 6; by means of a clamping screw 11: the bush may be contracted so as to grip the plunger with anydesired tightness.

It will be noted that in Fig. 1, the ratchet wheel n is engaged by an auxiliary pawl 11 shown as pivoted on one of the stops q and spring-connected to the other, to prevent reversal of the screw 7 during the cutting stroke; this auxiliary pawl may be omitted, if the angle of the screw threads is such as to make the screw irreversible, but when it is necessary, means may be provided for disengaging the auxiliary pawl from the ratchet wheel a so that the crank handle m can be revolved backwards for setting the holder h in the desired angular position before starting to cut the substance. For example, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the pawl n is extended to form a lug n facing the upwardly cranked extremity 1 of a spindle g which can be revolved by the manual depression of a plunger 2 connected by a crank arm z to the other end of spindle 1 What I claim is:-

1. In a slicing machine having a knife, a reciprocating feed table, means for advancing said table transversely in relation to said knife, and a holder for the substance to be sliced, means carried by said feed table for supporting said holder, said supporting means including a vertical pivot for said holder and said holder being adjustable angularly around said pivot, screw mechanism feed table and a holder for the substance to be sliced, means carried by said feed table for supporting said holder, said supporting means including a vertical pivot for said holder, screw mechanism carried by said supporting means and controlling the angular position of said holder in relation to said pivot, manual means for operating said screw mechanism to set said holder in an angular position, automatic means for operating said screw mechanism step by step to turn said holder from said angular position, said automatic means including a slidable telescopic rod carried by said supporting means and a fixed abutment struck by said slidable telescopic rod at each complete reciprocation of said feed table, and means for regulating the movement of said screw mechanism at each step.

3. In a slicing machine having a reciprocating feed table with vertical pillars whereby the substance to be sliced is secured thereon, the combination of a frame fitted to engage said pillars, a vertical pivot mounted on said frame, a vertical plate supported on said pivot for angular movement, said plate adapted to receive and to hold the substance to be sliced, a screw mechanism mounted on said frame, said screw mechanism including a horizontal screw at approximately right angles to said vertical plate, a nut engaged upon said screw, and means for restraining rotary movement of said nut, a link connecting said nut to a point on said vertical plate remote from said pivot, and means for revolving said screw step by step at each complete reciprocation of said feed table.

l. In a slicing machine having a reciprocating feed table with vertical pillars whereby the substance to be sliced is secured thereon, the combination of a frame fitted to engage said pillars, a vertical pivot mounted on said frame, a vertical plate supported on said pivot for angular movement, said plate adapted to receive and to hold the substance to be sliced, a screw mechanism mounted on said frame, said screw mechanism including a horizontal screw at approximately right angles to said vertical plate, a nut engaged upon said screw, manual means for revolving said screw to set said vertical plate in an angular position, and automatic means for revolving said screw to turn said vertical plate from said angular position, said automatic means being actuated step by step in relation to the reciprocation of said feed table.

5. In a slicing machine having a reciprocating feed table with vertical pillars whereby the substance to be sliced is secured thereon, the combination of a frame fitted to engage said pillars, a vertical pivot mounted on said frame, a vertical plate supported on said pivot for angular movement, said plate adapted to receive and to hold the substance to be sliced, a screw mechanism mounted on-said frame, said screw mechanism including a horizontal screw at approximately right angles to said vertical plate, a nut engaged upon said screw, manual means for revolving said screw to set said vertical plate in an angular posiition, automatic means for revolving said screw to turn said vertical plate from said angular position, said automatic means being actuated step by step in relation to the reciprocation of said feed table, and means for damping the angular movement of said vertical plate about said pivot.

FIENNES THOMAS LAMBERT. 

